


Your Own Legacy

by Negateaux



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-23 08:10:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23308390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Negateaux/pseuds/Negateaux
Summary: It's graduation day as Duke prepares himself to join Batman's war on crime. As Duke reflects on his path so far, he wonders if there may be a future for him outside of the Robin title.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Your Own Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick note, I imagine this story takes place right before Batman Rebirth issue 1.

Duke throws his pencil down with just a  _ tad  _ more force than he means to. He can’t help but jump out of his desk when that final bell rings. It was graduation day after all. Graduation means you move on to the next stage in your life and Duke was more than ready for the next stage. 

One of his teachers stops him, telling him to make sure to do his best in school. A lesson Duke had little use for. Not because he didn’t like school, on the contrary, he quite enjoyed it. When he wasn’t getting kicked out that is. Or getting in fights. Or accidentally hitting on other dudes' girlfriends. An act which usually ended up causing the fights. Which of course led to the getting kicked out of school. 

Duke avoided giving that explanation to the teacher but he appreciated her encouraging him nonetheless. He was sorely lacking in encouragement these days. But that was all about to change. No more foster homes. No more flying solo. No more waiting for his parents to get better. Now, he was in the big leagues. Or at least the JV squad. Maybe an understudy. He cocks his head to the side as he loses the sports analogy. 

As the hoard of students exit the building, preparing to enjoy a pleasant few months of summer (or at least whatever could be considered pleasant in Gotham) Duke makes his way to the rack of bikes and grabs his rusted old red one. He makes no move to see anyone before he hops on and speeds off. Everyone he’s looking forward to seeing are already at his destination. Likely with the head start from his teachers pep talk. He can feel his phone vibrating as he makes his way downtown. Each time it does, he can feel his smile widen just a bit more.

The sun still hung pretty high in the sky at a crisp 3:33 PM. Duke hoped he could make it to his destination without some psycho in a mask threatening to blow up the city. Though he realized dealing with that kind of thing was going to be his new everyday. A prospect he almost wished he wasn’t so excited for. He hadn’t been able to help it, not since the Joker almost won. Not since he took away his parents' sanity. 

Duke had always enjoyed a good thrill. His dad always told him he was jumping off high places since before he could walk. But something changed in him during that Joker attack. Now, Joker attacks weren’t new. They were like seasons here in Gotham, but that one had been personal. 

Duke’s heart starts to pound in his chest as the memories resurface. 

Standing in the clowns sick recreation of the Wayne family murder had been the scariest moment of his life but that need for a thrill never left him. Not even after he’d been saved. What happened next sent him on the path to where he was now. Getting into another fight. Another foster home. Joining the Robin gang. Helping Bruce remember who he really was. Getting his face kicked in by a thirteen year old. Twice. Seeing how out of his depth he really was with all this “vigilante business” and still being unable to turn his back on it. There was no stopping his need for a thrill.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Duke comes to a stop in Gotham’s downtown area. He gets off his bike and turns to his destination. The place was called White Tiger Martial Arts, a place Duke spent many a day when he was much younger. He’d only managed to get a green belt before his parents made him stop the classes but he never forgot the lessons, even into his later teen years. The place was hardly used much anymore. Too many things inside were in need of repair. As was the case with most of the lower income areas of Gotham. Apparently the Mayor figured that there wasn’t much point in fixing something that was going to get destroyed every other Wednesday. A sentiment that many Gotham inhabitants shared.

Duke walks his bike inside to the sound of a small chime. Normally there would be at least a few kids here being taught by Sensei Williams but classes had been halted for a few weeks after the incident with Bloom. He was pretty sure one of his friends had broken the lock to get in. Not that there was really much to steal. 

A group of teenagers sat scattered around the room all turned their attention to the door once Duke had entered. Two guys and three girls. Riko, Izzy and Sugar all sat in a circle of chairs near the center of the room while Dre stood propped up against one of the walls and Dax was spread out on the floor.

Izzy gets up first but Duke could have sworn Riko was about to do the same as he walks in. “It’s about time you showed up!” Izzy yells as she runs over to hug him. She wraps her arms around his neck and he breathes in her fried food smell. Courtesy of her job. It always makes him just a little bit hungry. 

“I know, Iz.” Duke replies. “Mrs. Sampson stopped me after my last class. Went on just a little too long, y’know?” 

“She’s probably just going to miss you.” Riko says as Duke unwraps from Izzy. “We all will.” Sugar, Dax and Dre remain in their spots as Duke makes his way to the center of the room. He gives Riko a tap on the shoulder as he goes past her.

“Can you stop talking about me like I’m never going to see you guys again? I’m just changing schools. It’s not like I’m moving to another state.”

“It’s not the same.” Dre says as flatly as he says everything else.

“Yeah,” Dax cuts in. “You’re staying with that fatcat, Wayne. Anyone else think it’s weird he keeps taking in all these ‘wards’ over the years?” Dax motions to everyone but they all push aside his comment.

“You’ll be a Gotham Academy prep in no time.” Izzy says with a smirk. Duke shakes his head as he takes one of the chairs previously occupied by Riko. He gives a fist bump to Sugar, who makes no move to comment on his situation. He can’t really blame her, she is the newest addition to the crew and is clearly still trying to navigate the social circle. 

“I’m not about to be one of those, trust me. I just got lucky when Wayne was working at the youth center. He saw my potential and wanted to help me out. Everyone knows he’s a sucker for that kind of thing.” Dre shakes his head.

“Come on, man. Let’s not pretend this is something that it isn’t. We all wore the R. We all called ourselves Robin but only one of us gets to graduate. Batman picked you to be the real thing. And we all know Wayne funds Batman’s tech. Soon enough you’ll be wearing the cape and those ridiculous tights.” Duke sighs at the remark but he knows it’s what they’re all thinking. They were all in the game before him but yet he’s the one being picked to be Batman’s sidekick. 

Just the thought of the word sidekick leaves a bad taste in Duke’s mouth. The last thing he ever wanted was to be Robin again. Not since his fight against the Court of Owls. He remembered telling the  _ true _ Robin during the aforementioned getting his face kicked in, “I’m not Robin. You are.” For Duke, that was the moment the dream really ended. He realized he would never be up to snuff with the rest of those guys. Even  _ if _ he was able to figure out that spiral faced bastard had been the previously thought dead Dick Grayson. He still patted himself on the back for that one. It didn’t matter though. Those four, they were the real deal. Duke and the others, all just pretenders. Being offered the real thing, to be like those others, it should have been inspiring. So why did he feel so...apathetic about it?

“Leave him alone.” Sugar says to everyone’s shock. “The fact of the matter is,” She stands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Duke is the only one to realize that we were just making things worse. Kids died because of what we did. Good or not, we weren’t ready and that wisdom is what got him the job.” 

“Come on guys.” Duke speaks after a few moments of silence. “It doesn’t matter who has what job. It could have been any one of us. I just got lucky.” Duke can’t help but notice as the words leave his mouth, no one looks him in the eyes. “I may have been picked but I’m not special. And maybe I’ll have a six foot bat standing next to me now but that doesn’t mean anything has to change. I’m sure we’ll still get together on missions and…” Duke’s voice fades out as Riko places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. Duke meets her gaze. It’s sad and distant like when your parents are about to reveal your goldfish is dead. “What? Why’s everyone got that look?”

“We’re getting out of the game, man.” Dax says while rising from the floor. “Just not that much of a point anymore.” Duke looks to all his friends. Each of them wear a matching expression. Duke stands up causing Riko’s hand to fall off his shoulder. He looks at her again. 

“Is this true?” She nods her head slowly. Duke’s shoulders slump. The news is a gut punch enough but seeing Riko’s admission makes it hurt twice as much. She was the one who got him in the red in the first place. The one who always tried to tell him he was worthy. The room goes silent. Duke takes a step forward and wraps his arms around Riko. He wants to hug them all. But she’s the closest. He hopes they see this should represent all of them. It takes a moment for her to respond in kind but once she does, they linger there for a moment. 

“Enough of the sappy stuff.” Izzy says with a sad smile on her face. “We didn’t call you here to be the bearers of bad news. It was a decision we all made together and we really are happy for you.” Duke moves away from Riko, who seems hesitant to break the bond. 

“It’s true,” Dre says as he moves closer. “Dax, would you kindly?” Dax looks confused for a second before Dre motions his head and he seems to get the picture. Dax quickly walks behind one of the counters for signing in. He looks like he’s fiddling with something for a moment before he stands up with a large rectangular white object in his arms.

“Happy graduation day, dude!” Dax says with a huge smile across his face. Duke looks down to the large white cake Dax carries over to the group. A red barrier of frosting surrounded a clearly hastily written message. “Happy Graduation to the one Robin who made it!” Below it was a large yellow R. A smile creeps across Duke’s face. He can’t remember the last time he had cake and his mouth was already watering at the thought. He didn’t even care what flavor it was.

“Happy graduation.” Sugar saya quietly. “We really are happy for you.” Duke looked to them all, his eyes starting to feel just a little heavier. 

“Alright everyone, I know it’s cheesy but we have to do a group hug here!” Sugar stands and the rest of them pile into a group. Group hugs are always awkward, especially for the person in the center, which is what Duke was but it couldn’t be helped. 

Once the hug ends, Duke nods to each of them. “Let’s dig in.” Izzy says with a clap of her hands. Sugar brings out some utensils for the group and they start to dig in. The cake is a sweet and spongy vanilla. Not Duke’s favorite but he can appreciate a solid basic pick. Like pepperoni pizza. Can’t go wrong there.

The sound of the door to the dojo opening causes everyone in the room to freeze. “Hope you brought enough cake for the whole class there, kids.” An unknown voice cuts across the revelry. The former and future Robin all turn towards the entrance to the dojo as four people cross the threshold. The one in front, a muscular man with messy black hair and a leather jacket takes the first few steps. “Oh, I’m sorry, is this a private party? I brought my party jeans and everything.” Duke and the others look at each other. Something about the man seemed oddly familiar. Another one of the men step forward. This one much leaner but obviously still as well built. He had a killer smile, and loads of swagger as he stepped forward. 

“Leave the kids alone. We’re sorry to interrupt.”

“Speak for yourself.” Came the voice of the youngest looking of the bunch. He was a kid, clearly younger than Duke and the others. He would guess that the kid couldn’t have been older than...thirteen? Duke almost dropped the cake out of his mouth as the truth hit him.

“Excuse him, he’s rude to everybody.” This came from the last of the bunch, the same black hair as the others though clearly older than the kid. Close to the same age as Duke if not a bit older. “We actually came here looking for you, Duke.”

“Yeah,” started the first one again. “You’re an  _ easy _ man to find. You should really work on that going forward.”

“I don’t know,” Izzy began while standing up. Clearly angry at the host of strangers interrupting the celebration. “Who the hell you guys think you are, but you need to leave. Before we make you leave.” A sound escaped the youngest one, something almost resembling a  _ tsk _ .

“That’s laughable.” 

“What did you say, short stack?” Izzy replied. She made a move forward but Duke stood in her way. 

“Okay that’s enough out of all of you. We’re all friends here after all.” 

“You know these jokers, Duke?” The question came from Dre who was clearly ready for a fight if it came to it.

“We all know them. Just maybe not outside of their...work clothes.” He was met with a host of confused looks from his friends so he knew he’d need to clarify. “Maybe imagine them dressed in red, kicking our asses and telling us ‘what it means to be Robin’?” 

A moment later, a wave of understanding crosses over his group. All except for Sugar, clearly still confused. No surprise there, she hadn’t been part of the group then.

“Great, now that that’s over perhaps we should get on to business.” The one wearing the leather jacket approaches Duke and extends his hand. “Jason.” He points to the lean one. “Dick. Tim and Damian.” Duke matches the handshake. 

“I’d introduce myself and the others but since you already know us, there isn’t much point.”

“True.” Jason says flatly. “Dick, why don’t you tell him why we’re here.” Dick Grayson, now apparently back to life enough to not wear the spiral mask places a hand on Duke’s shoulder.

“We know how big a deal today is for you. All four of us remember the day we got the offer and we wanted to extend an official Robin welcome for you. So we thought we might show up and take you there ourselves. If that’s okay?” The “there” Dick was referring to most likely was Wayne manor, but he understood why he couldn’t just say that. He hadn’t been planning on leaving until later in the evening but he had to admit it made him feel just a bit special that they all came out to take him there. Still, he felt bad about leaving the others. He hadn’t even finished the cake yet. He opens his mouth to voice his rejection but Riko cuts in before he can.

“You should go, Duke.” Duke turns back to her. 

“What, why? We’re not done hanging out yet. There’s still some time before I need to go.”

“She’s right, Duke.” Izzy says after a sigh. “You’re in the big leagues now. Time for this Robin to fly.” She gets close and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. “Try not to forget about us, okay bigshot?” Izzy doesn’t give him time to respond before she walks past him and out the door. 

Being called Robin makes Duke’s skin crawl. Especially with the actual Robin standing just behind him. He’s pretty sure he hears Damian mumble something about Duke not being Robin but he’s quickly silenced by Dick. The others slowly leave without much fanfare. Dax making sure to take the cake with him. Each of them congratulate him on becoming a real Robin yet with each one the title feels more and more unreal. Was he really just going to be another Robin? He looks at Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian in turn.  _ God, they look like a bunch of clones. _ He shakes away the thought. Just nerves he figures.  _ Calm down, Duke. You earned this. _

“Well, that was awkward.” Jason says once the last of his friends had gone. “Ready to get this show on the road?” Duke nods to him. Taking one last look at the dojo before heading out. He leaves the bike there. It’s clear he won’t need it much now and maybe some other kid in need of a bike can take it.

* * *

A few minutes later, Duke sits between Damian and Tim in the back of an SUV. He wonders if one of them actually owned this car or if it was one of Bruce’s extras. Though he imagined Bruce Wayne wouldn't be caught dead in something like this. The car is silent as Duke clutches his school backpack to his chest. It contained all he could carry from his last foster home, the rest of his stuff was being sent directly to Wayne manor. He can’t help but notice Damian’s tension, perhaps the kid thought Duke was stealing his name. Though, to be fair, he was. Duke wonders if the others felt this way on their first day. Eager but also not sure how to live up to the previous Robin that came before.

“So,” Duke says to get some conversation going. “Any uh, Robin tips for the new guy?”

“Quit.” Damian said. Far too quickly for Duke’s liking. Damian turns to face him. “You know you’re not ready for this life. You’re not like the rest of us.”

“Damn, why don’t you tell him how you really feel?” Jason chimed in from the front. 

“He doesn’t mean that. He’s ecstatic to have you on the team. We know you’ll do great.” Dick states from the drivers seat. Duke looks to Tim, but he just gets a shrug in response.

“Okay, aside from Damian’s idea, does anyone else have one?”

“Avoid crowbars. And clowns.”

“Never neglect your schoolwork.”

“Don’t let Bruce boss you around all the time. Find what works best for you.” All things considered, that was actually a better set of advice than he thought he’d get. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something just wasn’t fitting. Duke makes a non committal “hmm” before the car devolves into mindless chatter between them. He studies each of them in turn. 

Dick is the first, he tries to imagine him in the red tights. He can see images of the pictures he’d see in the newspaper when Robin first came on the scene, it matches well with Grayson now, even if he probably hasn’t worn the outfit in years. It was subtle but Duke can tell that being Robin meant everything to Dick. That’s why he wants him to do well. 

Jason is a different beast. He had a swagger to him, much like Dick, but in a way, it was the exact opposite. Jason carried a lot on his shoulders. Even Duke could see that. More than that though, Duke could see Jason had a confidence most people wished they had. Duke didn’t know much about Jason’s time in the costume but he’s sure it was wild.

Tim is harder to read than the others. In some ways, he seemed the most straight laced of the bunch. Someone always looking at something beyond the here and now. Like life was an investigation he was trying to piece together. 

Damian is weirdly the one Duke feels the closest to. Even if he’s a total dick. There is a bit of an understanding between them. As if Damian, despite himself, just wants Duke to be stronger. Strong enough to handle what’s going to come while he’s Robin. To him, being Robin means suffering.

Duke thinks about these four that surround him. He considers what he feels separates him from them the most. Is it his inexperience? Is it the fact that his parents are still around? Jokerized or not. Is it just that he  _ looks _ different from them? Or maybe he just  _ is  _ different. He thinks back to the advice each of them gave. Most seemed rather self explanatory so that wasn’t going to help much. 

He then thinks about Damian’s words. “Quit. You’re not like the rest of us.” 

An idea crosses his mind. An idea so obvious he wants to slap himself in the face for not thinking of it sooner. He turns to look at Damian with a grin on his face. Damian meets his gaze and scowls. “What is it, Thomas?”

“Nothing. I just wonder if you ever get praised enough for your brains.” Damian raises his eyebrows but turns away.

“Not enough, no.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Dick parks the car on the ramp leading up to Wayne manor. The place looks creepy even in the fading sun of Gotham city. Large and imposing, walls high and adorned with all the trappings of Gotham classic architecture. The five of them all get out of the car, seemingly in an effort to show some degree of respect for what was about to happen. 

“Looks a lot better in the pictures doesn’t it?” Jason says. 

“Yeah, it’s something else, for sure.” Duke replies. Dick walks up next to Duke and gives him a tap on the shoulder.

“Just take a breath. I can tell you’re going to be a great Robin.” The others (minus Damian) all nod their heads in agreement. Duke smiles at them in return but truly his mind is elsewhere. He puts his backpack on and takes a deep breath.  _ No, Dick. I’m not going to be a great Robin. _ He wants to tell them. He wants to show them the new path he finds himself on but he knows it’s better to wait. Wait until he has a clearer picture of what lies ahead. 

Duke Thomas begins his walk up the hill in earnest. He raises his hand to wave back at the others but doesn’t turn to meet their looks. He’s not going to spend his time trying to recreate something that came before. He was never meant to be Robin, he was born to be something else.  _ Sorry guys, you can keep your legacy for someone else. I’m not going to follow down a path that wasn’t meant for me. _

Duke takes one last look at the sun, and drinks in its glow. He doesn’t know what he’s going to become once he knocks on that door but he knows whatever it is, he’ll forge his own legacy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for making it to the end of my story, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any notes or critiques I would love to hear them as I am always looking to improve. One thing I think bears mentioning, I wanted Duke to tell the others about his decision not to be Robin, but I like to write my stories like the could be canon, and in canon Jason still calls Duke a Robin of some kind even though he was never official. So maybe he doesn't really know. Also, I wrote this in part because Duke didn't get a story in the 80th anniversary issue. I get why but it still bums me out. So hopefully this can be kind of like that.


End file.
